SINGAPORE: Three pre-school staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 under a proactive testing regime before centres reopen after the “circuit breaker” period, said the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) on Thursday (May 21).
The agency said last week that all pre-school and early intervention staff members would undergo a one-time swab test by May 26 in order to reduce the risk of transmission when centres resume full services.
Advertisement Advertisement “During this proactive testing of all staff, we would expect some positive cases to be identified,” said ECDA in its media statement on Thursday.
[h=3]READ: All pre-school staff to be swabbed for COVID-19 before centres resume full services[/h]The tests, which started on May 15 and are scheduled to be completed by the end of the month, have seen about 10,400 pre-school staff members test negative for the novel coronavirus so far, while three positive cases have been identified.
As a precautionary measure, ECDA has directed that a 14-day leave of absence be issued for the “small group” of children and staff members who were recently present with the three confirmed cases in the pre-schools, said the agency.
Advertisement Advertisement Contact tracing by MOH is ongoing and close contacts of the positive COVID-19 cases will be placed on quarantine orders.
ECDA said the pre-schools have been closed for two days for "thorough cleaning and disinfection" of their premises, and may resume services for children and staff members who are not on a leave of absence.
The cases among pre-school staff members come two days after the Government announced that pre-schools and early intervention centres will be allowed to reopen gradually from Jun 2, beginning with children at the kindergarten level.
Children in Nursery 1 and 2 will follow from Jun 8, while those in infant care and playgroup will be able to return from Jun 10.
Centres are currently open to offer limited services to children whose parents are working in essential services such as healthcare.
[h=3]READ: Transition to a 'new normal' after circuit breaker: How will measures be lifted beyond Phase 1?[/h]Testing is also being carried out for residents and employees at nursing homes, welfare homes, sheltered homes and adult disability homes.
This has been prioritised as the elderly are particularly vulnerable to developing complications from COVID-19, MOH and the Ministry of Social and Family Development said earlier this month.
So far Singapore has seen 29,812 cases of COVID-19 with 448 new cases reported on Thursday.
In its preliminary update on Thursday, the health ministry said that 13 of the 448 new cases are either Singaporeans or permanent residents.
Of these, seven were picked up from the ministry's active surveillance and screening of nursing home residents and pre-school staff, while another four are part of a family cluster linked to a dormitory.
Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the other two cases.
[h=3]BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments[/h]Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
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